Tragedy at Red Lake: School to reopen next week (April 7, 2005)

An update on the latest developments involving the March 21, 2005, fatal shootings on the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota. THE INVESTIGATION ONLINE RESOURCES • Star Tribune: Red Lake School Shootings • Pioneer Press: Red Lake shooting Tom Heffelfinger, the...

Professor says California ignoring Indian children (April 7, 2005)

California's public schools aren't doing enough to meet the needs of Indian students, according to professor Joely De La Torre of California State University, San Bernardino. De La Torre said only 52 percent of Indian students finish high school. That...

Drunk Student: Chief Illiniwek is not offensive to Natives (April 7, 2005)

"Last week I was blessed with tickets to the NCAA men's Basketball finals in St. Louis. Although drunk, I noticed something was missing in the halftime show -- Chief Illiniwek. In fact, he was missing from the entire NCAA tournament....

Supreme Court to weigh appeal of trust lawsuit (April 7, 2005)

Two years after losing an attempt to limit the federal government's fiduciary responsibilities, the Bush administration is back at the U.S. Supreme Court with another trust case. The Department of Justice has asked the high court to overturn decisions favoring...

Oklahoma tribe files claim to island in Ohio (April 7, 2005)

The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma has filed a land claim to part of an island in Ohio. The tribe is seeking damages for the loss of 350 acres of North Bass Island on Lake Erie. The tribe also wants hunting...

Bill to clean up mines near reservation advances (April 7, 2005)

A Montana Senate committee unanimously endorsed a bill to clean up two abandoned mines near the Fort Belknap Reservation. The Zortman-Landusky gold mines have contaminated the local water supply. The state says the water will need to be treated forever...

Judge won't let Peltier see government papers (April 7, 2005)

A federal judge has denied a request by imprisoned American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier to unseal certain government documents. Peltier's defense team believes the papers contain information that could lead to his release. The papers come from the FBI's...

Editorial: Economic development a solution (April 7, 2005)

"James Wolfensohn's tour of the Pine Ridge Reservation was symbolic of a growing awareness - in some quarters - of a real solution to many problems on Indian reservations. That is economic development. Wolfensohn, outgoing president of the World Bank,...

Supreme Court called less sympathetic to Indians (April 7, 2005)

For many decades, the U.S. Supreme Court was a place tribes and individual Indians could look to obtain justice. But observers say the court's latest ruling involving the Oneida Nation shows how the tables have turned. "I've been in this...

Court to hear dispute over Yakama Nation utility fee (April 7, 2005)

The Washington Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the Yakama Nation's utility fee. The tribe imposes a 3 percent fee on utility companies that do business on the reservation. But a group of non-Indians called the Standup!...

Campbell to give update on Indian energy legislation (April 7, 2005)

Retired Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) will give an update on Indian energy legislation at a conference in Las Vegas today. In the 108th Congress, Campbell backed a measure to make it easier for tribes to develop their land. The...

Program aims to keep Native students in school (April 7, 2005)

A biology professor at Newman University in Kansas has created a program to help Native American students stay in school. Native students have the highest dropout rate in the Wichita school district. Last year, 5.5 percent of Natives in grades...

Torres Martinez Band launches $1.5M wetlands project (April 7, 2005)

The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians of California held a blessing ceremony on Wednesday for a $1.5 million wetlands restoration project. The tribe will turn 85 acres of its reservation into a habitat for more than 400 bird species that...

Ousted Soboba Band council member regains seat (April 7, 2005)

Members of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians elected two new council members on Saturday, including one man who was ousted just a few months ago. Maurice "Buster" Mojado was initially elected in March 2004. But the election was invalidated,...

Man who was banished as teen in trouble with law again (April 7, 2005)

A 28-year-old Alaska Native man whose banishment by a Tlingit tribal court drew national attention a decade ago has been arrested on assault and weapons charges. Adrian Rusch-Guthrie and his cousin were banished to an island in 1994. They...

Native woman who had heart surgery at age 2 dies (April 7, 2005)

Cynthia J. Doria, a Yankton Sioux woman who underwent heart surgery at the age of 2, died in February. She was 46. At the time of the operation in 1961, Doria, born Cindy Momsen, was one of the youngest persons...

Native man a suspect in slaughter of bald eagles (April 7, 2005)

Officials in Canada said on Wednesday they have identified a prime suspect in the slaughter of dozens of bald eagles on First Nation land in British Columbia. Officials would not identify the suspect but said he is a man and...

Lake dispute draws Natives on both sides of border (April 7, 2005)

First Nations in Canada and tribal governments in the U.S. are opposed to an outlet in Devils Lake, North Dakota, the head of the Assembly of First Nations said on Wednesday. AFN Chief Phil Fontaine was part of a Canadian...

Editorial: Denounce Ahenakew but don't charge him (April 7, 2005)

"No citizen in a free society should go to jail for his opinions, even opinions as vile as David Ahenakew's. A former native leader, Mr. Ahenakew told a reporter in 2002 that Jews were a 'disease' and praised Hitler for...

Native leader offers diabetes defense for hate crime (April 7, 2005)

A Native leader who made anti-Semitic remarks plans to blame his outburst on diabetes and two glasses of wine, his lawyer said. David Ahenakew, a former chief of the Assembly of First Nations and former head of the Federation of...

Utah appeals ruling on Goshute nuclear waste dump (April 7, 2005)

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board heard arguments on Wednesday against its decision to allow a nuclear waste dump on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation in Utah. The state of Utah, backed by some members of the tribe, filed the...

GOP rallies to DeLay's defense amid new reports (April 7, 2005)

Republicans rushed to defend Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) on Wednesday amid reports that another overseas trip was funded by lobbyists and that his wife and daughter had received more than $500,000 since 2001 from his political action and campaign...

Commentary: Tribal flags at the Montana Capitol (April 7, 2005)

"Tribal flags billowed next to the Stars and Stripes, the smell of burning sweetgrass hung in the air, and the drumbeat from a half-dozen tom-toms was a tad insistent. Scores of Native American tribal members dressed in full war bonnets...